Israel Lessons : Industrial Arcadia. Teaching and Research in Architecture

This book offers a critical look at the territory that today forms the state of Israel and the lasting historical role of agriculture, which sprang from the Neolithic revolution in the Middle East, had for a wide range of aspects of human social and ecological development. Topics considered include agriculture’s role in territorial appropriation and domestication, in structuring the development of urbanization, in creating a national homeland narrative for the Jewish state, and in changing the climate. Israel Lessons explores in particular the three major types of Israeli agricultural development: vernacular Palestinian/Bedouin, socialist utopian Kibbutz/Moshav, and contemporary high-tech desert farming. Presenting findings through text matched to striking images, graphics, and maps, and featuring proposals for architectural intervetions, it demonstrates how facts and narratives related to agriculture and the climate crisis are intertwined with geopolitics and sectarian ideals of an earthly paradise. 

Harry Gugger is an architect and professor at EPFL’s School of Architecture. He is also head of EPFL’s Basel-based satellite studio, Laboratory Basel (laba). Barbara Costa is laba’s head of research. Salomé Gutscher is a teaching assistant at laba. Stefan Hörner is laba’s head of teaching. Charlotte Truwant is a research assistant at laba.